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| Full name | Melbourne Victory Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Victory | ||
| Short name | MVFC | ||
| Founded | 2008; 18 years ago (2008) | ||
| Ground | AAMI Park The Home of the Matildas | ||
| Capacity | 30,050 3,000 | ||
| Chairman | John Dovaston | ||
| Manager | Jeff Hopkins | ||
| League | A-League Women | ||
| 2024–25 | 2nd of 12 Finals: Runners-up | ||
| Website | melbournevictory | ||
 Current season | |||
| Active departments ofMelbourne Victory FC | ||||||||||
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Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional women'sassociation football team affiliated withMelbourne Victory FC andFootball Federation Victoria based inMelbourne,Victoria. Founded in 2008, the team is one of the representatives ofMelbourne in Australia's top-tier domestic competition – theA-League Women.
The Club plays at two home grounds. The Club's primary home ground is theHome of The Matildas. The club also plays home games at the in double header matches before the men's team at theMelbourne Rectangular Stadium, currently known asAAMI Park for sponsorship purposes, a 30,050-seat stadium onOlympic Boulevard inMelbourne's city centre. The Victory has previously played its home matches at other stadiums throughout Melbourne and surrounding areas, includingLakeside Stadium,Docklands Stadium andCB Smith Reserve.
Following on from the previous top-divisionWomen's National Soccer League, Melbourne Victory Women linked with theHyundai A-League men's club but run by Football Federation Victoria (FFV), was a foundation club of theWestfield W-League.[1] With a strong roster boasting Australia's number one goalkeeperMelissa Barbieri and former Matildas starTal Karp as captain, expectations were high.
Early signs were positive in thefirst season with New Zealand internationalMarlies Oostdam scoring the club's first goal as Victory won their first competitive fixture, defeatingCentral Coast Mariners 2–0.[2] Despite being on top of the table at the conclusion of Round 3, the next few rounds were lean for Melbourne, and it found itself in the position of needing a win in the final round to make the finals series. With the final round match in the balance, Central Coast Mariners came back to haunt Victory with goals in the 89th and 90th minutes to deny the Victory a play-off spot in the inaugural year.[3] Melissa Barbieri was awarded Goalkeeper of the Year by the league.[4]
Thesecond season proved even more painful as once again Melbourne's finals prospects came down to a last-round showdown, this time againstPerth Glory. Needing only a draw to claim fourth spot, late goals again cost Victory as Perth scored in the 81st and 87th meaning the Victorians missed out on finals to Canberra via goal difference.
2010–11 season saw a change of personnel for Melbourne Victory with new coach Vicki Linton taking charge of a re-shuffled squad. Adjusting to a new system and new teammates, it was a slow start with the team having to wait until Round 4 to claim its first win of the season before finishing the regular season off with a five-match undefeated run. Finishing in fourth spot, Victory made the finals but succumbed to a strongSydney FC team 5–1. The team was not quite ready for a title challenge but a maiden finals campaign was an important step forward. This also saw the club win its first silverware with a win overCanberra United, seeing it awarded the OCRF Trophy while also taking out the W-League Fair Play Award.
If 2010–11 was an important step forward,2011/12 was a giant leap for Melbourne Victory as it consolidated its place as one of the top teams in Australia. Its most consistent season so far saw it never out of finals contention. Going the entire season undefeated at home – including going within minutes of beating the undefeated Canberra United – Victory finished fourth in the tightest season of the Westfield W-League in history. Despite a tight 1–0 loss to Canberra in the semi-final it was a successful season withSteph Catley,Ashley Brown,Brianna Davey andKatrina Gorry all making theirMatildas debuts while Catley and Brown won Footballer of the Year (Australian Football Fan Awards) and W-League Young Player of the Season respectively. Melbourne Victory also won its second successive W-League Fair Play Award, sharing with Canberra, and retained the OCRF Trophy.
Hoping to build on their strong 2011/12 season, the Victory got off to a shaky start in2012/13 with head coach Vicki Linton resigning only weeks before the season was to kick-off. With her departure Darren Tan was appointed as interim coach until former Gold Coast United coachMike Mulvey was given the job just days before the opening round. Having only a squad of 12 players registered going into the match, Melbourne Victory was forced to sign three more players due to FFA regulations before going on to lose 2–0 to Perth. Despite another loss in Round 2 leaving the team on the bottom of the ladder, a combination of international signings – including starsPetra Larsson andJessica Fishlock – and players beginning to understand Mulvey's playing system led to a turnaround in form.
With the league's best defence, Melbourne finished the regular season in third place losing only a single match after Round 2. Even so, the team had to contend with more issues as Mulvey left following Round 9 to take up an A-League contract withBrisbane Roar, while Fishlock's guest contract ended after Round 10. A dramatic semi-final win over Perth Glory extended the side's historic undefeated streak to seven and allowed it to host the 2012/13 Westfield W-League grand final atAAMI Park, although it fell to Sydney FC 3–1. Despite this, Steph Catley was awarded W-League Young Player of the Year and Mike Mulvey W-League Coach of the Year.
Victory began the2013–14 season by signingLisa De Vanna andEmma Checker.[5] With these additions as well as the signings of Swedish footballerJessica Samuelsson andKatie Hoyle Victory was building toward Championship Season.[6] Victory would finish third place in theregular season with an equal club record points tally with 23 points. Victory Would beat second placeSydney FC thanks to apenalty goal fromLauren Barnes in the 71st minute of the match to qualify them to the2014 W-League Grand Final (February). Melbourne Victory would playBrisbane Roar atLakeside Stadium,in front of a crowd of 2,504 on 23 February 2014. Victory would win the match 2-0 thanks to goals fromLisa De Vanna andLauren Barnes. this would be Victory's First W-League Championship.[7] Lisa De Vanna was also named Female Footballer of the Year and Stephanie Catley were awarded Female U20 Footballer of the Year.[8] CoachDave Edmondson departed the club following Grand Final to joinBristol Academy[9]
Joe Montemurro would become Victory's new coach.[10] Victory would then compete in the2014 W-League season. Due to Australia hosting the2015 AFC Asian Cup, the season was scheduled to take place entirely in the 2014 calendar year instead of continuing in to 2015.[11] The club would place second in theregular season with 20 points. victory would playCanberra United. the match would finnish 0-0 afterextra time and Victory would lose 4-5 in apenalty shootout due toGülcan Koca missing Victory's final penalty. CoachJoe Montemurro would depart the club after the season to joinMelbourne City.[12]
AfterJoe Montemurro's departure the club appointed championship winning coachDave Edmondson to manage Victory.[13] Melbourne Victory would play in the2015–16 W-League season. Melbourne Victory would finish last in the regular season with a record low points tally of 7 points and a record low 2 wins across the whole season. Victory failed to make the finals series and was the worst season Victory had at that point.Dave Edmondson would depart the club as coach at the end of the season.[14]
The Hopkins era began after the 2015–16 season, whenJeff Hopkins took over the vacant position following the departure ofDave Edmondson.[15] Hopkins came to the job at Victory with "a wealth of experience both as a coach and a player" through his coaching performance withBrisbane Roar, winning multiple pieces of silverware including a double in his first season. Hopkins would signRachel Alonso,Alex Cheal,Lia Privitelli, andAyesha Norrie to begin building a squad for the future.[16] Hopkins' first two seasons would start off Shakey with another ninth place finish with a total of 9 points in the2016–17 W-League season and a seventh place finish in the2017-18 W-League Season. Hopkins struggled in these first two seasons but major improvements for the team to come.
Victory would go into the2018-19 Season by signingEmily Gielnik fromBrisbane Roar andGrace Maher fromCanberra United.[17][18] Hopkins would alsoloan in American duo fromOrlando Pride,Dani Weatherholt andChristine Nairn.[19] Despite failing to make finals since the2014 season Hopkins' Victory was predicted by media to finish in the top four, as well as former playerGülcan Koca suggesting they could win the premiership/championship double.[20][21][22][23] Victory would start the season playingAdelaide United in a nil-all draw, despite Victory's 21 shots at goal.[24] Victory would gain there first win after a 2-1 win againstNewcastle Jets.[25] A 2–1 victory overPerth Glory atDorrien Gardens secured the club's first W-League premiership. The Victory entered the match needing a point to win the trophy after Brisbane Roar were unexpectedly defeated.[26][27] This would be the clubs First W-League Premiership for the club. Victory would then play fourth placePerth Glory in the semi final. The match reached a 2-2 draw at regular time, but a completedhattrick fromSam Kerr during extra time gave Perth Glory the 4–2 win.[28] Victory's Performance in the regular season would qualify them to the2019 AFC Women's Club Championship.
Before the beginning of the season Hopkins signed New ZealanderAnnalie Longo as well as signingJenna McCormick andMelissa Maizels.[29][30][31] Hopkins would begin the2019-20 W-League Season with a 3-0 loss againstSydney FC and a 3-2 win AgainstBrisbane Roar. Victory would then compete in the2019 AFC Women's Club Championship. Victory would begin with a 4-0 loss againstIncheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels. Victory would then draw 1-1 against Chinese clubJiangsu Suning with a goal fromGrace Maher and the team would finish its club woman's championship campaign with a 5-0 loss against Japanese clubNippon TV Beleza. Melbourne Victory would finish fourth place in the club championship with only one point.[32] Hopkins' Victory squad would continue the season by finishing second in the regular season and making finals.[33] In the finals series Melbourne Victory would playSydney FC in thesemi final. Sydney FC would defeat Hopkins' side thanks to a 14th minute goal byVeronica Latsko.
Hopkins would go into the2020-21 season by signing American duoCatherine Zimmerman andKayla Morrison.[34][35]Lisa De Vanna would also re-join the club alongside new signings ofKyra Cooney-Cross,Paige Zois, and New ZealanderClaudia Bunge.[36][37][38] Victory would begin there season with a nil-all draw againstBrisbane Roar followed up by a 6-0 win overMelbourne City in aMelbourne derby.[39][40] Victory would continue a relatively successful campaign placing third in theregular season and qualifying themselves for finals. Melbourne Victory would play second placedBrisbane Roar in asemi final inBrisbane. Victory would win 6-3 thanks to ahattrick byMelina Ayres. This win qualified Victory to the2021 W-League Grand Final. The match was played betweenSydney FC andMelbourne Victory atNetstrata Jubilee Stadium on 11 April 2021.[41] The match would end nil-all after 90 minutes leading to extra time. The match would finish in a 1-0 win after a 120th minute goal byKyra Cooney-Cross.[42] this was Victory's second championship. Hopkins would extend his contract with the club after this championship season.[43]
For the2021-22 season the W-League was Rebranded byAustralian Professional Leagues to the A-League Women.[44] After extending his contract Hopkins would then signAlana Murphy.[45] On 5 October 2021Casey Dumont would also sign for the club.[46] The2021-22 season would begin with a 5-1 win againstAdelaide United. This result was followed up by the club signingAlex Chidiac on loan from Japanese clubJEF United Chiba on 9 December 2021.[47] Victory would continue the season strong including a 5-0 win overWestern Sydney Wanderers. Victory would finish theregular season by finishing fourth place with a points tally of 24 points. Melbourne Victory would playAdelaide United in thesemi-final atCoopers Stadium on 13 March 2022. Goals fromLia Privitelli andMelina Ayres would lead to a 2-1 win leading Victory to play Melbourne City in thePreliminary Final. A 3-1 win for Victory atAAMI Park in front of 1,306 people in attendance, would qualify Victory into the2022 A-League Women grand final. The match was played atNetstrata Jubilee Stadium againstSydney FC, on 27 March 2022 in front of a crowd of 5,027 people. the match was a strong contest for both sides with no goals scored in the first half. In the beginning of the second halfAmy Jackson would score a goal in the 49th minute followed up by a goal byCatherine Zimmerman in the 64th minute leading to a 2-0 lead.Cortnee Vine would score a consolation goal forSydney FC. The match would end in a 2-1 win for Victory. the result would win Victory the clubs third Championship.[48] Victory would win back to back championships.[49] Casey Dumont's great goalkeeping performance in the grand final would earn herplayer of the match.[50]
Hopkins would go into the2022-23 A-League Woman Season by re-signingAlex Chidiac and signingJessika Nash,Beattie Goad, andElise Kellond-Knight.[51][52][53][54] Victory would finish the A-League Women season placing fourth with a point tally of 29 points.[55] Victory would play in thesemi final against third placedMelbourne City at Casey Fields on 15 April 2023. the match would end in a 3-3 draw afterextra time meaning the match went topenalties. Melbourne Victory won 4-1 on penalties qualifying Victory to thePreliminary final. Victory would play first placedSydney FC atAllianz Stadium on 22 April 2023. After a long game for both sides a 89thMadison Haley goal to put Sydney FC a goal to win them the match. Victory lost the match 1-0 meaning Victory were eliminated from the finals series.Melina Ayres would finish third place in the Golden boot with 9 goals.[56]Alex Chidiac would earn herself theJulie Dolan Medal for her extraordinary season with the club.[57]
Hopkins would re-sign to his role of coach of the club again for the next two seasons.[58] Hopkins would go into the2023-24 Season by signingRachel Lowe,Emma Checker, andJamilla Rankin.[59][60][61] These signings were followed up by the signing of Japanese forwardKurea Okino, as well as signingElla O'Grady.[62][63] Victory would start the season Shakey by losing its first two matches againstBrisbane Roar andWestern United. Victory would get there first win againstAdelaide United 2-0 atAAMI Park in front of a crowd of 4,102 on 4 November 2023.[64] On 30 December 2023 the club would announce the return ofAlex Chidiac for two and a half seasons.[65] Victory would finish the season fourth placed with a points tally of 36 points and qualify Victory to thefinals series. Victory would playCentral Coast Mariners in the elimination final on 14 April 2024 at theHome of the Matildas. The match went 120 minuets without a goal, with the match ending nil-all. The match went topenalties and ended in a 4-2 loss for Victory.[66]
Melbourne Victory would go on to play in the2024-25 A-League Women. The club would begin by signingAlana Jancevski,Nickoletta Flannery fromCanberra United, andSofia Sakalis fromPerth Glory.[67][68][69] Hopkins would follow this up by signing Englishdefender,Ellie Wilson and New Zealander,Claudia Bunge.[70][71] Victory would begin the season with a 3-2 win overAdelaide United before losing 3-2 againstMelbourne City. Victory would go on to lose only one more match for the rest of the regular season. Victory finished the season in second place despite only losing two matches across the whole season and gaining a record 53 points, this was because rivalsMelbourne City finished the season without a single loss.[72] This was Victory's best season by many statistics including points per game.[73] Victory would qualify into thesemi final. they would playAdelaide United overtwo legs. Melbourne Victory won both matches 3-1 leading to a 6-2aggregate score. This would qualify Victory to the2025 A-League Women Grand Final. The match was played on 18 May 2025 at AAMI Park againstCentral Coast Mariners.[74] played in front of a crowd of 6,568 people in attendance both teams put up a good fight in the first half leading to a 0-0 score line at halftime. In the opening minutes of the first half,Isabel Gomez scored a goal to put the Mariners up 1-0. Victory responded by attacking the Mariners goal fiercely with no luck due to the Mariners strong defence. The defence held strong until defenderClaudia Bunge scored a goal in the 80th minute off of acorner kick. the goal meant the game finished with a score of 1-1, leading the match to have to go toextra time. In extra time both sides fought hard and had their chances but failed to crate goals. With no goals in extra time the match went to apenalty shootout. Melbourne Victory would take the first penalty kick.Alana Jancevski missed the first penalty kick for Victory, and the rest of the penalties were scored, leading to a "fairytale" win for the Mariners.[75] in reflection to the season Hopkins stated "Looking back over the season, (I'm) extremely proud of the efforts of the team, how the team’s progressed, individuals have progressed, how some of the younger players have done over the season."[76]
The active support group for Melbourne Victory is theVictory Vikings, who also serve as the active support group forMelbourne Victory FC AWT.[77][78] The group was formed prior to the2019–20 W-League season by Melbourne Victory supporters who attended the2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, after they were involved with the Matildas Active Support and enjoyed the experience.[79] Aside from attending matches, the Victory Vikings are also known for announcing statistics on player milestones, as well as posting instant live match updates for Melbourne Victory and AWT matches. The group is notable for their mascot, a large stuffed Homer Simpson doll wearing a Viking helmet that is brought to matches, with players frequently posing with it.[80]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Below is alist of notable footballers who have previously played for Melbourne Victory Women. Generally, this means players that have played 50 or more first-class matches for the club. However, some players who have played fewer matches are also included, are the club's integral founding members, were integral members of a championship winning team, have at least one senior international cap or made significant contributions to the club's history.
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| Dates | Name | Notes | Honours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 October 2008–5 December 2009 |  Matt Sheppard[82] | Inaugural manager | |
| 3 August 2010–7 September 2012 | Vicki Linton[83][84] | First manager to take the club to W-League finals | W-League Fair-Play Award (x2): 2010–11 & 2011–12 |
| 12 November 2011–13 November 2011 | Michael Edwards[citation needed] | Step-in Manager for one match | |
| 21 October 2012–18 December 2012 |  Mike Mulvey[85] | Departed in Round Ten to join Brisbane Roar in the A-League. | W-League Coach of the Year 2012–13 |
| 18 December 2012–27 January 2013 | Fabrizio Soncin[86][87] | Promoted from Assistant Coach to complete season 2012–13 | W-League Premiership Runners-Up 2012–13 |
| 5 February 2013–23 February 2014 | Dave Edmondson[88] | Departed following Grand Final to joinBristol Academy[9] | W-League Champions 2013–14 |
| 14 May 2014–March 2015 | Joe Montemurro[10] | Departed after season to joinMelbourne City[12] | |
| October 2015–January 2016 | Dave Edmondson[13][14] | ||
| 17 June 2016– |  Jeff Hopkins[89] | W-League Premiers 2018–19 W-League Premiership Runners-Up 2019–20 W-League Champions 2020–21 A-League Women Champions 2021–22 A-League Women Premier Runners-Up 2024–25 A-League Women Champion Runner-Up 2024–25 |
| Season | Competition | Round | Opponent | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | AFC Women's Club Championship |  Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels | 0–4 | 4th place | ||
 Jiangsu Suning | 1–1 | |||||
 Nippon TV Beleza | 0–5 | |||||
| Season | Teams | League Position | Finals Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–09 | 8 | 5th | – |
| 2009 | 8 | 5th | – |
| 2010–11 | 7 | 4th | Semi-Finals |
| 2011–12 | 7 | 4th | Semi-Finals |
| 2012–13 | 8 | 3rd | Finalist |
| 2013–14 | 8 | 3rd | Champions |
| 2014 | 8 | 2nd | Finalist |
| 2015–16 | 9 | 9th | – |
| 2016–17 | 9 | 9th | – |
| 2017–18 | 9 | 7th | – |
| 2018–19 | 9 | 1st | Semi-Finals |
| 2019–20 | 9 | 2nd | Semi-Finals |
| 2020–21 | 9 | 3rd | Champions |
| 2021–22 | 10 | 4th | Champions |
| 2022–23 | 11 | 4th | Preliminary Final |
| 2023-24 | 12 | 4th | Elimination-final |
| 2024-25 | 12 | 2nd | Finalist |
Amy Jackson holds the record for most appearances with 103 as of April 2023
Last updated 30 April 2023
| Name | Years | League | Finals | AFC Women's Champions League | International Women's Club Championship | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amy Jackson | 2010–2014, 2019- | 87 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 103 |
| 2 | Lia Privitelli | 2016– | 75 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 84 |
| 3 | Casey Dumont | 2017– | 64 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 73 |
| 4 | Melina Ayres | 2017– | 57 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 68 |
| 5 |  Gulcan Koca | 2009–2018 | 61 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 67 |
Natasha Dowie holds the record for most league goals with 33 (including finals) as of April 2023.
Last updated 30 April 2023
| Name | Years | League | Finals | Total | Games per goal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Natasha Dowie | 2015–2020 | 33 (55) | 0 (2) | 33 (57) | 1.73 |
| 2 | Melina Ayres | 2017– | 20 (57) | 8 (9) | 28 (66) | 2.36 |
| =3 | Caitlin Friend | 2010–2014 | 15 (42) | 0 (4) | 15 (46) | 3.07 |
| =3 | Amy Jackson | 2010–2014, 2019- | 14 (87) | 1 (12) | 15 (99) | 6.60 |
| =5 | Lisa De Vanna | 2013–2015, 2020-2021 | 11 (32) | 3 (5) | 14 (37) | 2.64 |
| =5 |  Catherine Zimmerman | 2021–2023 | 12 (32) | 2 (7) | 14 (39) | 2.79 |
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